SWOPblogger

Nearly 60 union supporters marched from the East Side to downtown under a blazing midday sun Saturday to protest what they called poverty wages that school districts pay to cafeteria workers, bus drivers, teacher aides, education assistants and other school support staff.

"We're demanding a living wage," said Southwest Workers Union organizer Che Lopez. A living wage would be $13.75 an hour for a family of three and is based on federal poverty guidelines, he said.

The issue touches about 120,000 school workers throughout the city, said union organizer Tanya Garduño. Salaries for most of the workers are at or near the minimum wage, currently $5.85 an hour, she said.

Many of the marchers wore yellow T-shirts with the slogan "School Zone — Caution — Poverty Wages" written in English and Spanish.

At noon they stopped at the Bill Miller's Bar-B-Q at East Durango, across from the Alamodome where the Dallas Cowboys were practicing.

The union claims the restaurant chain pays workers on the South Side $6.50 an hour while North Side workers get $9 an hour for the same work.

The difference in wages is another example of how the county is divided between rich and poor, said Robert Alvarado of the Brown Berets, who was marching in sympathy with the protesters.

Labels: living wage, SWU, worker's rights